Hashtag Believing is Seeing
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: His name is KingOfFrost, or just Fr05t for short. He's a legendary hacker who dominates the online MMO's...and he's not even human. Jack Frost, the spirit of Winter, decides to do something about the lack of belief in him and picks up a laptop. However Jack is less than amused when the Guardians suddenly decide to call on him to deal with Pitch Black.
1. Chapter 1

Jack had originally dismissed the internet when it was first introduced. As a spirit, he didn't really have much interest in mortal fads. Plus, he still had no idea how to read, so that pretty much put a massive damper on the whole thing.

When it started to grow in strength and ease of use, he looked at it with mild interest. Like one would a rather interesting flower or dish.

Then he discovered something that had him sneaking into a computer store to 'buy' a laptop and certain programs. Of course he couldn't do it normally, since the whole "invisible to the living" thing made it impossible to purchase anything... but he did leave more than enough compensation for the device he took and the programs.

The next year was a game of trial and error, but the fact he could now claim he was able to read more than made up for it. It was like he was a dried out sponge that had been thrown into the ocean...he eagerly soaked up all the things he had never been able to enjoy before once his job handling the winter season was over.

So long as he brought the cold weather, no one really paid attention to what he did.

Considering no one actually believed in his existence, Jack decided to play a little trick via the message forums and multiple usernames to see if that did anything.

His almost fell off his staff in shock when the humans were able to see him, however briefly. Sure, they were a bunch of bored and stupid teenagers, but it was the most interaction he had with the living in _centuries_.

All because of a little "internet myth" about a winter spirit that went by "Jack Frost", along with the most bare minimum description.

Excited, Jack realized he finally had a way to garner belief. With enough of it, people would spread his name to the point they wouldn't walk through him anymore!

Now...he just had to pick a name.

* * *

Jack had to giggle every time he thought of his username.

Jack_Fr05t, or simply "Frost" for short.

What had started out as a quest to learn how to read had spiraled into a way to kill his boredom during the months outside the winter season. Mother Nature _really_ didn't care what the seasonal spirits did so long as they performed their duties and didn't interfere overly much with the duties of the other spirits. She was pretty much hand's-off in that regard, which was both great and frustrating.

So long as he brought the winter cold around the earth, he was free to do what he pleased the rest of the year.

He was sure the other spirits, especially Summer was wondering what new prank he was up to, considering he allowed winter's chill to vanish a little early for the past two years.

The simply truth was that he had become fascinated with the internet, and now that he knew how to read he had started 'surfing' the web whenever he had the chance.

He was flying over the arctic when he spotted it. One of those funny moving pods that the human scientists were using to study the ice and cold.

He sometimes liked to observe them, because very few people liked his element and by extension him.

Today there was a pretty bad blizzard, though it wasn't his fault. He saw one of the female scientists going out onto the ice to collect samples, huddling under her parka to try and stay warm.

His heart almost stopped (again) when he saw the ice begin to crack under the weight of the woman and her equipment. Whatever she was carrying had to be heavy.

Jack raced towards her, as he knew that with the blizzard going on like it was there was no way any of her friends would be able to see her fall, much less be able to rescue her in time if she went in.

Water began to seep in from the cracks, a sure sign that the ice was about to collapse right from under her.

The woman finally realized the danger she was in, as she screamed just as the ice caved in from under her. No one could hear her over the wind and the raging snow.

No one but Jack.

He didn't even stop to think about it...he used his powers to firm up the ice beneath her. She still became drenched, but she wouldn't slip under the ice anymore.

Considering the sub-zero temperatures, Jack promptly cleared the worst of the blizzard around her so that she wouldn't freeze to death in seconds. Her equipment was a lost cause but that was a small price to pay for saving her life.

Seeing her promptly head back inside after the near scare she had, Jack relaxed a bit.

That was way too close...she would have died if he hadn't been here!

Jack would have left, as the incident brought memories that were a bit too close to home...but he wanted to see if the female scientist was alright.

So you could imagine his unhappy countenance upon finding out someone had _deliberately_ sent her out during a nasty blizzard for samples that would have still been there once it was over.

The asshole who sent her out was pranked nine ways to _Easter_ once Jack figured out who it was.

However that wasn't the end of it.

Elsa, the tiny scientist he had saved had obviously figured out _something_ saved her life...after all, the sudden lack of blizzard after the dunk she had in the freezing water, never mind the fact he had _elevated _the ice to make it easier for her to climb out...was hardly subtle.

And considering it was Spring, which meant several months before Jack had anything to actually _do_, that meant she had quite a bit of time before the winter spirit vanished on her.

It took her two months to develop enough belief to see him.

It took them a full month of getting to know each other before Elsa got Jack hooked on internet MMO's and the wonders of RPG's.

There was no escape for Jack, who suffered from boredom and prank-deprivation during the months outside winter. It also provided a _wonderful_ distraction from the loneliness.

It was almost a disappointment when winter started to creep in...except Elsa was finally allowed to go home and she wanted to introduce Anna to her new bestie.

(The scientists were _still_ baffled how Elsa was able to complete so much research on rare and almost impossible to experience weather events that only occurred around ice and snow.)

* * *

If one had asked Jack that he would be seen because of _conspiracy_ theorists who were all gung-ho about proving that "Jack Frost did _not_ exist and we will bleeping _prove_ that's the case come hell or high water"...only to end up confronted by a mischievous spirit all too happy to dump _tons_ of snow right on them whenever they tried to claim "Jack Frost does not exist"... well, he would have laughed at you sadly before he discover the wonders of the internet.

On an unrelated note, he was still blessing Elsa and her knowledge of how to apply certain filters, because it meant he could quit stumbling into the "adult" sites that he had absolutely no interest in by complete_ accident_.

Swearing, gore and general psychological horror he could live with, and to a certain extent enjoy the latter two. However he firmly drew the line at porn.

Which wasn't entirely shocking as he _was_ a spirit, even if he _had_ died as a teenager. It wasn't like he could find a girlfriend without it being a complete turn off because he felt like a literal ice cube, and he wasn't interest in guys outside of being 'bros', as Anna had so eloquently put it.

Either way, hearing Jack come up with some _creative_ swears while exploring the wonderful world of online gaming (he wasn't limited to one language, since he had been around long enough to pick up more than a few out of boredom...including Klingon, oddly enough) would make Elsa laugh. Hard.

Jack grinned, as he heard even _more_ kids start spreading his name around along with a bare description based off the drawing Anna had done for him. Unlike her sister Elsa, Anna was artistically inclined.

Ever since he discovered the wonders of the internet...specifically online forums and gaming... more and more people were starting to accept the possibility that _maybe_ he might be more than just a name people used to complain about winter.

He felt a thrill of delight every time he found a new drawn picture of himself (none of which was R-rated...he had become quite proficient in hacking and any time he saw it on his official 'website' he made sure to remove it within an hour). He was starting to become one of those internet legends, complete with a fan base and devout followers. The fact that he tracked down the biggest sources of belief for "Jack Frost, Spirit of Winter" and did a few displays of his powers that wouldn't piss off Mother Nature or the Guardians, only made his legend _grow_.

His name had been around for centuries...only now people were starting to have a _face_ that they could associate with it.

By Manny, he loved the internet. There were billions of people on the planet, and he only needed to extend a little effort and proof to get the belief started. He might never reach the same heights as the big four (North, Bunnymund, Sandy and Toothiana), but he would be _seen_ and more importantly _believed _in.

It wasn't like he was trying to steal belief from the Guardians... children outgrew that on their own and passed it down to their kids, starting the cycle all over again. He just wanted to be noticed and not treated like a monster.

He had lost count of the number of times he tried to befriend some of the other spirits, only to be spurned or treated like crap because of the fact he controlled winter.

And they _wondered_ why ice spirits acted so pissy around the others, considering the distrust and sneers that kept being thrown their way.

Pricks.

It honestly made him wonder why in Manny's name Pitch hadn't simply capitlized on the fact that there were several _subcultures_ of humans who would be all too happy to _pay_ in order to be subjected to his power over fear.

Jack had sat with the sisters when they watched _Trick R Treat _with the twisted 'spirit' of Halloween known as Sam. He felt nothing said more about humanity's ability to accept fear and turn it into fun than watching that movie, since it hit upon several key traditions of Halloween and how you didn't necessarily need to fear the darkness if you could embrace it instead.

(That being said, he had made a few discreet inquiries about whether that twisted little guy existed...so far he wasn't having much luck but that wasn't to say the odd spirit _didn't_ exist.)

The whole thing was almost enough to make Jack forget the sorta-epic rivalry he had with the Easter Bunny, aka Bunnymund. Almost.

But noooo, Bunnymund the jerk had to be a total drama queen and get a snitty about the accidental blizzard he created by adding a proper scenic backdrop for his stupid eggs.

Jack's eyes gleamed...he would give that stupid kangaroo frozen feet for a freaking _month_ after that snide comment the jerk made about him having no believers.

It wasn't being petty when the other guy acted like such an ass, just because he thought he was hot stuff for being one of the Big Four.

Jack only kept his mouth shut about having actual believers because he didn't want the Guardians to get all snitty about his methods and using the internet to drum up belief.

It was slow, but it was _working_ and he wasn't about to give that up just because they might not like the fact he was interacting with the living through a screen.

So what if people merely thought he was just an oddball who liked the old legends of Jack Frost a bit too much and ran with it? They still_ believed_ enough to see him and interact with him, and that's all he really cared about. He was so sick of being alone that he was willing to try almost _anything_ to be SEEN.

(And no, Elsa, he was NOT going to attend freaking therapy. He was a spirit, for Manny's sake! Besides, where would they find an actual therapist who was willing to believe long enough to actually have sessions with Jack Frost in the first place without trying to 'convince' him to let go of his unrealistic fantasy of being a winter spirit?)

Jack bit his tongue and ignored the hurtful comments of the Easter Kangaroo (sorry, _bunny_) with the ease of long practice. Far too much practice, if you asked him. Was it _his_ fault that his powers were pretty much the opposite of what the stupid kangaroo _wanted_ for his lame holiday? He never asked for the Man in the Moon to turn him into a winter spirit, and he still had no idea what it was that Manny wanted him to do in the first place.

After nearly three hundred years, he had given up trying to figure it out and decided to find his own purpose outside the winter season.

He could not say this enough...thank the _Moon_ that humans created the internet and ways to access it, even if he had to 'pay' for his first laptop in a way that could have been considered stealing since he couldn't go in to the shops like a normal person. He never thought getting one so he could learn how to read would give him actual friends, much less believers.

_'One day, the Guardians will wake up and realize I found my own way to drum up belief, and then we'll see who's mocking who, you stupid kangaroo,'_ thought Jack viciously.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack was having a blast in Burgess, and had to hide a smug grin hearing Jamie talk about some game he had been playing and how cool Jack_Fr05t was and how he was the undisputed _King_ of the game.

It was always nice to be appreciated, even if it was going to take at least a century before his name spread through the chat boards out into the real world. He didn't care _how_ much work he had to put into it...he would get people to start believing in him enough to have a solid belief base.

He had already pegged Jamie as a future believer, if he played his cards right. The kid was a conspiracy nut and even had an account on his personal website.

Jack was rather proud of "SpiritOfWinter", since it was _the_ official website for people who were interested in "Jack Frost", whether it was the older stories or the new ones he had been spawning every year since Elsa helped him set it up.

He even had one of those 'internet trends' going on where kids would dare each other to go out during winter to spot "Jack Frost" and challenge him to a snowball fight.

That had been one of the biggest sources for belief, because several children and teenagers had posted _videos_ of an invisible hand drawing random pictures or even words _in their native language_ on the swiftly frozen over window. People kept claiming it was a hoax, but plenty of others ate it up. After all, it was hard to dispute evidence like a window swiftly freezing over and having images appear as if drawn by an invisible hand when there wasn't anyone there and there was no scientific explanation for it outside of a winter spirit having fun.

To top it all off, Jack decided to be creative about the whole thing and always topped off the videos with the image of his staff at the end.

It was his way of saying "Jack Frost was here, and he's very real".

Parents seemed to tolerate his odd site because he had a very strict no-tolerance policy regarding adult content. He didn't mind a little light swearing, but anything over PG-13 was often taken off rather quickly if it went against the content rules.

Fortunately, most of the fans were willing to adhere to the policy and if they felt Jack had taken something off unfairly he tended to give them a chance to explain why it didn't go against the content rules.

He had gotten a lot better at picking out the stuff that didn't belong and was rather fair about allowing a few things to slip through the cracks so long as no one else became offended by it.

(He did not think of the R-rated pictures or the weird "doujinshi" Anna claimed to have found. He wasn't going to touch_ that_ subject with any length of pole and he refused to even think of looking them up for fear of what he would find. Some people had seriously twisted _ideas_ of what was acceptable and he would like to keep his mind free of such depravity, thank you very much.)

The only consolation he had from the fact Jamie walked through him and was more interested in talking about tooth-fairy money was that he was almost _positive_ the kid had seen glimpses of Jack Frost out of the corner of his eye and the knowledge that Jamie did believe somewhat in a winter spirit possibly being real when he countered his mother's comment of an old man with the fact that Jack was a teenager with a sheppard's crook for a staff when she brought up his name.

Jack grinned later that night and thought about 'frosting' the window. Considering how excited Jamie was about possibly seeing Tooth, he wasn't going to ruin that for him. He could always do it later tomorrow.

He knew Jamie had a phone, because one of the games he had been debating with the others with was a popular mobile game.

Jack only had a smart phone for the games and the fact it let him talk to Elsa and Anna when he was busy during winter. That and it let people 'tag' Jack Frost on certain apps, thus making it easier for his fans/believers to buy in to the idea that "Jack Frost" was a legitimate spirit for kids to track down and have snowball fights with.

He idly wondered how long it would take Jamie to notice he had tagged "Jack Frost" on his phone...that is, if he even had any of the apps that did that sort of thing active.

(Again, Jack was never touching the dating apps with _any_ length of pole for obvious reasons.)

So you could imagine his shock...and irritation at seeing Bunny, only to be thrown into a _sack_ and tossed into a magic portal.

He was so freezing that stupid kangaroo's tail for this.

* * *

_An hour later..._

Pitch was...ugh, there were no words to describe the sheer level of whining and the monologue the guy was doing in equal measure.

Still, finding out Tooth had been storing his memories of when he was alive was enough to get his cooperation, even if he thought the entire thing was blown out of proportion. In order to add into the fun, Jack made sure none of the Guardians saw him whip out his smart phone and start adding a new "spot the Spirit" challenge onto the site and several message boards.

Well, Sandy saw him but he didn't "say" anything to the others. Though there was an idle sort of curiosity in his eyes as to why Jack had a phone of all things and what he was doing with it.

Jack grinned as the chat boards exploded with excited night owls and kids across the world who were eager to try out the challenge. Jack would update the country with every stop they made to pick up the teeth, but this was going to be _fun_.

If he had to suffer through Bunnymund's irritating presence to help Tooth, then by Manny he was going to get something out of this mess.

As they all raced desperately to collect the teeth (with Jack remembering almost at the last minute thanks to a text from Anna about leaving something behind...not that he bothered to remind the others until Tooth said something), he was rather pleased to see his little message board _explode_ about sightings of "Jack Frost". Sure, he had to contend with the Big Four, but their presence only added fuel to his own belief.

Maybe if things worked out he would explain what the Guardians were to everyone else, but honestly he hadn't seen much that would give him a reason to join.

There was a major disconnect between the Guardians and the kids, and it made him wonder when the last time they bothered to interact with an actual believer was. Tooth had openly admitted it had been a few centuries since she personally collected an actual tooth.

But the highlight of the entire night was the _look_ on Bunny's face when Jamie Bennet saw a blur where Jack Frost was.

His belief had been formed thanks to the site...it just needed a bit of proof to solidify.

Then everything went pear-shaped when Pitch managed to take out Sandy.

Jack wasn't sure if it was the sudden influx of belief or if there was some other reason, but he was able to fend of the power of fear with his own.

Either way he wasn't too happy about the sudden 'belief' from the Guardians that he could take out Pitch because he had managed to fend off the nightmare sand.

* * *

Jack decided to take Sophie home.

There was only so much of Bunnymund he could take, especially since he had doubts that the Guardians even _cared_ about him in the first place.

The only reason they were even bothering to include him was because Man in the Moon told them to.

Hearing that familiar voice call out to him was like a punch in the gut.

Seeing Pitch casually dangle _his_ baby teeth (the memories he had thought lost forever), only to hand them over after he had destroyed the eggs was even worse.

Then again Jack never expected much loyalty from the Big Four, who wereso quick to blame _him_ for the fact that the eggs got smashed.

Rather than rant to himself in the cold, isolated arctic, Jack went and got his laptop to chat with Elsa.

He was faster on his keyboard than he was with his phone, and this way he could Skype her properly.

The second she picked up on his ire at the Guardians, she opened up a video chat immediately.

"_Are you okay?"_ asked Elsa.

"They acted like it was all my fault the eggs got smashed, simply because I was able to fend off Pitch better than them. If it wasn't for me, none of them would have been able to deal with Sophie without traumatizing her!" ranted Jack.

Elsa, rather than try to placate the winter spirit she had come to regard as a younger brother, let him get it off his chest.

Jack had been alone for so long that he let loose what he _really_ thought of the situation for a good thirty minutes before he calmed down.

He felt oddly better for it.

"_Don't blame yourself Jack. The Guardians were incredibly insensitive about your feelings and they're far too tied up in defeating Pitch to realize the amount of pressure they're putting on you. It's ridiculous that they expect _you_ to solve _their_ problems when they've ignored you for the past three hundred years,"_ said Elsa crisply.

"...Does this mean we'll get you to sing the song?"

"_For the last time Jack, I am _never_ singing 'Let it Go' just so you and Anna can play around in an ice castle!" _said Elsa fondly exasperated.

"Aw, but why not?" said Jack with a grin, his mood restored.

"_I curse the day that blasted movie came out,"_ muttered Elsa.

Jack snickered.

One of her former colleagues remembered the "blizzard incident" and the fact that ever since that day she had an unusual ability to have it snow on demand, or to clear the area around her.

Naturally they had taken it to a friend of theirs that worked in animation and pitched the idea of the ice queen who's name was, you guessed it, "Elsa". She even _looked_ like her, except Elsa had black hair and the snow queen had pale blond. Much to the amusement of Anna, they had even included her as well.

Elsa didn't know whether to be horrified or exasperated that her efforts to help Jack with his site created far too many fanfictions and fan-made 'comics' involving Elsa and "Jack Frost" as lovers. She could only envy Jack because he made a point to avoid those sites entirely on principle and thus had yet to stumble across any.

Anna finally stopped laughing every time she found a new one when she started finding ones about _her_ and Jack.

Jack felt much better after having Elsa to rant to. Still, he was annoyed beyond belief that the Guardians dared to blame _him_ for_ their_ screw-ups. Honestly, they should have expected Pitch to pull something like this.

Since he didn't want to deal with them tracking him down, Jack disappeared somewhere over the Arctic tundra. He didn't care where it was, just that it was too cold for the others to find him easily considering he could literally melt into the landscape.

Elsa hadn't _just_ spent those months politely requesting certain cold weather phenomena. She had convinced Jack to explore more of his powers than he would have ever tried on his own. He was rather proud of his Snow Pack, which took the form of white wolves that could create icy winds whenever they howled as one.

(Elsa's favorite animal was wolves. Hence the pack.)

Which was why Jack was less than amused when he saw Pitch there...with the Baby Tooth that he had rescued from those Nightmares.

Though after hearing the 'recruitment' speech Pitch gave, Jack had to roll his eyes.

"Really? That's the _best_ you can come up with? Belief through fear? Are you a complete idiot or have you really never bothered to explore other options?"

Pitch blinked.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh don't get me wrong...your 'big plan' (Jack used finger quotes and didn't bother to keep the sarcasm out of his voice) would work up to a point. But did it ever occur to you that humans have a really _nasty_ habit of lashing out whenever they're afraid? Sure, they can't hurt us...but it would be far too easy for them to pin the blame on someone they don't like and start a war just because they think the other side is responsible."

Seeing he had Pitch's full attention, Jack continued.

"After all, humans have started wars for less. Like having the 'wrong' religion, the 'wrong' skin color, or just plain greed. Eventually they would wipe themselves out to get rid of your fear, leaving you with almost no believers at all and considering how adaptive they are, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if they figured out how to harm spirits like us and decide that if one of us is responsible for the devestation then the rest of us would be evil by association regardless of whether we actually _did_ anything. Though I'm fairly certain that the other spirits would figure out the same thing, get pissed off at _you_ and do everything in their power to wipe you out before it got to that point," said Jack vindictively.

Pitch looked pale...well, as pale as he could get as he started to realize Jack had made a rather valid point. He might not care about the humans beyond having belief, but he had seen the same thing Jack had over the centuries and hadn't thought that far ahead.

"Well what would _you_ suggest? I'm tired of not being believed in! Ignored, shunned, mocked..."

"I hear you dude, I really do. I just think you're going about this the most ridiculous way possible," said Jack sympathetically. "I mean really, the Guardians are idiots who have gotten their ego so inflated that they were completely clueless on how to handle a six-year-old who had managed to get into the Easter Kangaroo's warren."

Pitch snorted at that, glad someone else thought the Guardians were idiots.

He didn't even realized he released Baby Tooth, who promptly flew to Jack's hood and hid there.

"Besides, why on earth are you targeting the kids when the adults are easier?" said Jack.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there are thousands of adults who would _love_ meeting someone like you, especially on Halloween. And it's the adults who instill the first traces of belief into the children, who then pass it on to their children. People already acknowledge you are there... they just need a bit of nudging to create the belief that you exist as more than just a fairy tale. After all, if they really _didn't_ believe in you to some extent then why do they know that the 'boogeyman' is the personification of fear?" said Jack sensibly.

Pitch wasn't entirely convinced, but he wasn't ready to attack Jack anymore either. A seed of the same belief Jack had captilized on to make his name more well known had started to grow in the boogeyman...now he just had to wait for Pitch to come to him and he could make things a lot easier for the poor guy.

It sucked, not having believers and being ignored by damn near every other spirit in existence.

Jack leaned against an iceburg. He was so done with this and he didn't even want to see the Guardians right now. What was the point when they likely hadn't realized the fact they had put way too much pressure on a guy they had been ignoring for centuries?

Seriously, why hadn't Pitch gone after that stupid kangaroo instead of Sandy?

So you could imagine his surprise when Baby Tooth activated the memory function of the teeth.


	3. Chapter 3

**As a special birthday pres from me to you, I will be posting a few stories as full ones!**

* * *

Jack was outside Jamie's house. The kid was _literally_ the last true believer in the world...at least in the Guardians anyway. Jack had spent an entire hour insuring _his_ well of belief wasn't touched by sending snow storms on demand...it was exhausting and he knew Mother Nature might be pissed at him later, but his belief system was still too fragile to allow Pitch's hissy fit to go unanswered.

Seeing the kid talk to the rabbit doll in his hands, Jack knew _exactly_ what to do.

He made sure to tap at the window to get Jamie's attention, before giving it the special "Frost" treatment...complete with the snowing drawing of his staff.

Jamie's belief solidified enough to see Jack, his eyes wide with excitement.

He quickly checked his phone and that excitement doubled.

"No way... You're real? You're actually real?!"

"Remember the line on the site?" grinned Jack.

"Hastag 'Believing is Seeing'," grinned Jamie, thrilled.

He couldn't believe _the_ Jack Frost, king of the snowball fights, was in _his_ room.

"But wait, what about..."

"Easter, North, Tooth, Sandy...they're all real. But the boogeyman is throwing a major fit and has damaged the belief in them because he's tired of being ignored. You know how everyone always calls me an expression, like your mom?" said Jack. Jamie nodded. "Well he used to have believers back in the Dark Ages until the Man in the Moon created the Guardians...as a result the belief people had in him was damaged and it made him a shade. Everyone losing their belief in things like Santa, the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny caused their powers to drop."

"What about you?" asked Jamie worriedly.

Jack grinned.

"Well unlike the Guardians, _I_ know the power of the internet. Besides, I've been alone for a little over three hundred years before I decided to try my luck with computers. After all, you were quick to believe in me because of my website."

Hearing the racket outside, Jack grinned.

"Jack, he believes in you," said North with surprise.

"Why wouldn't I believe in the king of snowball fights?" said Jamie, honestly confused on that front. "I mean we spent hours trying to find him last month when he said he was in Burgess...even if we did end missing him because we had a play to perform."

Three sets of blinks and one smug grin.

"What?" said Tooth finally.

Jack snickered.

"You guys _really_ need to catch up with the times. I've been isolated and alone for three hundred years...did you really think all I did was 'mess up egg hunts'?" said Jack deliberately jabbing at Bunny. "I've had to learn how to adapt if only to counter the loneliness and isolation."

"Jack...does this have anything to do with the sudden snow storms that we kept running into to get here?" asked North suspiciously.

"Well I wasn't about to let Pitch destroy the fragile belief system I finally established. At least my believers still acknowledge the fact I exist, especially since I sent plenty of mystery snow storms to convince them I was real," said Jack, hooking a thumb at Jamie.

"_Your_ believers?!" said Bunnymund, as if he couldn't accept what he was hearing.

Seeing the dark clouds race towards them, the Guardians decided to try and protect Jamie, since he held the last shred of belief. If he was taken out, then the belief in the Guardians would take a _massive _hit that would take years, if not decades to properly recover from.

* * *

Jack was not amused being cornered in an alleyway, with Nightmares looming over them and a smug Pitch ready to do _something_.

"Jack...I'm scared."

Jamie sounded so much like his sister that Jack leaned down to comfort him. Then an idea hit him.

"Hey Jamie, what's your World of Warcraft username?"

Jamie blinked, before his jaw dropped.

"No way."

Jack grinned wickedly, to the confusion of the Guardians and Pitch.

"Want to see something awesome?"

Jamie nodded so fast his head looked like it would fly off.

Jack concentrated, and put his hands on the ground. Ice formed beneath his fingers...before he slowly started to pull 'up' with his powers...to form a familiar wolf.

"I don't believe it! Jack is KingOfFrost?!" said Jamie excitedly.

To prove he was in fact the famous MMO gamer, Jack twirled his crook _exactly_ like the avatar he used on Jamie's favorite mobile game did. Any fear the kid had was replaced with excitement at meeting his gaming idol.

"Jamie, who is KingOfFrost?" said Bunny, eyeing Jack suspiciously.

"It's my gamer handle. I go by Jack_Fr05t online when I'm hacking," said Jack smugly. Seeing the looks he was getting, including Pitch, Jack smirked. "What? I died as a freaking _teenager._ Did you really think I wouldn't pick up a laptop to see what the big deal was about the internet and not get hooked on online gaming?"

Pitch narrowed his eyes at him.

"Does this have anything to do with the 'alternate' methods you spoke of when we talked?" he demanded.

"I got Jamie to believe in me with a frosted window because the kid happens to be a fan of conspiracy sites that talk about things like Yeti and the Loch Ness Monster. My believers barely took a dent compared to the damage you did to the faith in the Guardians because I make a point to give humans _proof_ that I do exist and the fact I was quick to keep the belief going by sending storms on demand to certain areas where the highest concentration of believers were," deadpanned Jack. "Seriously, I could have people believing in you in less than a decade with half of the effort you put in to attacking the Guardians in a way they can't come after you for. Besides, it would be nice to have another spirit join in on the raids."

Jack helped Jamie up onto his special Snow Gale, and the kid looked beyond thrilled to be going on an adventure with _the_ KingOfFrost.

He wasn't the only one...the second his friends realized who Jack was they were eager to help.

(Needless to say the Guardians were all _highly_ confused by this and why the children kept calling Jack the KingOfFrost. Jack merely snickered and sent them all friend invites on the online games they had in common. He looked like he wanted to cackle at the very baffled looks on the Guardians when the kids grinned and said "Hashtag Believing is Seeing.")

Seeing Jamie stand up to the fear and turn Nightmares back into dream sand was awesome.

* * *

_An hour later..._

Jack felt sorry for Pitch. Sure, he did deserve the ass-kicking Sandy gave him, but he didn't deserve to be forgotten about.

Rather than let Pitch be swallowed by his own fear, Jack held out his hand to the Nightmare King.

"What do you want, Frost?" said Pitch sullenly.

"I think that the Guardians and even Man in the Moon have you all wrong," said Jack flatly. "Humans need fear just as much as they need hope, wonder, and dreams. It's just that they don't like to be reminded of that fact."

"What?" said Pitch baffled. He wasn't the only one...the Guardians looked just as confused by that statement.

"Without fear, humans would never develop their self-preservation instincts at all. Without fear, they wouldn't find the resolve to push forward and gain the courage necessary to make miracles happen. Without fear, they wouldn't appreciate the things the Guardians bring as much."

"What are you talking about Frostbite?" said Bunnymund crabbily.

"Jack, Pitch..."started Tooth.

Jack leveled a flat look at them all.

"Pitch is necessary. You might not like what his powers can do or the fact that he inspires negative emotions, but the fact is that without fear, humans wouldn't have the drive to push forward and find their courage. Jamie, would you jump into a cage of lions or other predators at the zoo in order to get a close up look at them?" he asked bluntly.

Jamie looked at Jack like he was crazy.

"Are you nuts? They'd eat me alive!"

Jack looked rather triumphant.

"See? Jamie's _fear_ of being 'eaten' sparks the necessary survival instinct to avoid a situation that would get him killed," said Jack.

The _look_ on Pitch's face, finding _someone_ that understood why he was necessary almost made Jack want to give him a hug.

Still, his power was weak in the day and he needed to be back underground to lick the wounds Sandy had given him.

"I'll help you get some actual believers later when things calm down," said Jack quietly, making sure the others didn't hear him.

The grateful look on Pitch's face made a sympathetic one cross Jack's.

If it wasn't for Sandy, Jack wouldn't have bothered accepting the newly created position as the "Guardian of Fun".

* * *

Jack found Pitch in his lair.

"What do you want Frost?" said Pitch sullenly.

"I'm here to help you make a website," said Jack bluntly.

"...What?"

"Fun fact about humans...there are certain people who will believe in damn near _anything_ if you give them enough proof. I've already started a cult following of people who openly believe Jack Frost is a legitimate spirit thanks to this," said Jack, patting his laptop. "Of course if it wasn't for Elsa and Anna, I would have never made as many 'fans' as I have in so short a time."

"You can't be serious."

"You could have a fan base within a year or less with those powers of yours. Do you have _any_ idea how many people would _pay_ to be scared out of their wits?" said Jack snorting.

"..."

Jack pulled up one of many sites dedicated to true horror fanatics. Specifically the official Freddy Krueger website.

"What is this?" asked Pitch.

"...You've never heard of Freddy Krueger? I mean his powers aren't that dissimilar to yours, except he goes after the people in their dreams and kills them literally in their sleep. He only loses his powers when people forget about him...Sound familiar?"

Anna, being the occult horror buff had introduced him to the series...and the first thing Jack had thought upon seeing _Nightmare on Elm Street_ for the first time was that it sounded way too much like what he had heard about Pitch Black, except for the killing part.

Pitch stared at the sight and at the video clips.

"And people _pay_ for this?" he said dubiously.

"Like I said, if we do this right the believers will flock to you," said Jack confidently. "After all, people used to only reference me when they were talking about the winter chill and yet Jamie and the others recognized me _on sight_ when you had that hissy fit because of a little bit of power."

"...Point. So how does this work?" asked Pitch.

Jack grinned...and pulled out a second laptop.

"Have you heard of the internet?"

* * *

_At North's workshop..._

"You did _what_?" said Bunnymund horrified.

"Helped Pitch set up a website and start earning believers."

"Jack, why would you help Pitch?!" said Bunny.

"Because I _get_ where he's coming from! You guys had each other, but Pitch and I never had anyone! We've spent centuries being hated and shunned by other spirits and being ignored by people! Do you have any idea what it's like to be so alone and knowing that trying to reach out to others is pointless because they'll either ignore you exist or worse, treat you like a monster simply because of what you are?" snapped Jack.

"Jack?" said Tooth.

Jack was shaking with repressed fury.

"Winter spirits are hated and loathed because of their powers. How did you put it that one time, Bunny? Winter brings only 'cold and death'," said Jack bitterly. "It's not like Pitch ever asked to be created with power over fear and darkness. It's not like I _wanted_ to be reborn as a winter spirit, long after most of the spirits had already set up their cliques. No one wanted me around, and if Pitch hadn't found a way to control nightmare sand none of you would even acknowledge the fact I existed except as a nuisance and a troublemaker... the only one who even remotely gave me the time of day out of any of you was Sandy."

The other three looked at Sandy, who silently commented that he had played with Jack and spent a few hours with him occasionally when they bumped into each other.

"So if you want to know why I'm helping Pitch gain enough belief to be seen...it's because I know exactly how he feels. I might not lash out at kids like he did, but I wouldn't wish that sort of existence on anyone."

Several of the smaller spirits who had mostly been forgotten about were slowly being remembered by others thanks to Jack and his sites. It had never occurred to any of them to use the human internet to connect with the living and remind people they were still around.

Jack didn't know it, but his efforts to help others like him was slowly changing the way the spirits felt about him.

Jack noticed Sandy's question.

"How did I get belief?" he asked. Sandy nodded. "You do realize that there are tons of humans who will believe in anything so long as they have even a shred of proof, right? I mean all it took to kickstart it was to jump on a few conspiracy theorist sites and start using my powers in odd ways that couldn't be believed scientifically and people started thinking 'maybe Jack Frost _is_ real'. Kids in particular like to do stupid things just to kill time, so it wasn't that hard to set up 'Frost Hunts' where they could try and find the 'spirit of winter' to have a snowball fight with him, and since I kept my site kid-friendly the parents didn't try to discourage the trend."

Seeing they didn't get it, Jack pulled up his site.

"I started up what I called 'Frost Hunts'. I tell the kids the general area I'm going to be and what time I'll be there. If they make it there in time I'll start a snowball fight and 'frost' their windows with drawings that I top off with a copy of my staff. After the first five times, kids started really getting into the 'trend' and started spreading new stories about me, thus solidifying the belief. Since my particular 'fad' only involves tracking down a playful winter spirit that throws snow balls and is never out after dark, parents are fine with their kids tracking me down for a bit of fun so long as they stay out of trouble. That and I have strict zero tolerance policy regarding anything over PG-13," explained Jack enthusiastically.

"...Do I want to know?" asked Bunny, his expression saying very much how much he didn't.

Jack's face went flat and his expression said volumes.

"Trust me, you are better off not asking what sort of weird things humans can come up with. I'm just glad Elsa fixed my browsers so I don't have to worry about stumbling across the 'adult' sites like last time," said Jack, shuddering. "I mean I can handle swearing and the horror sites, but I firmly draw the line against the sites that kids definitely shouldn't go near until they're at _least_ sixteen."

North gave Jack a look of sympathy... at least the boy had his priorities straight. Then his mind caught up to something Jack said.

"Who's Elsa?"

"She's a scientist I saved. She helped me start the site and her sister Anna was the one to suggest starting up the whole Frost Hunt," said Jack brightly.

"You saved her?" said Tooth, figuring this was the best way to earn some of Jack's trust.

"Some jerk superior of hers told her to go get samples during a blizzard. Except the ice wasn't thick enough for her, the equipment or the sled team so it started to break. She lost the equipment, but I was able to save her from dying of hypothermia and drowning. Once she realized there was no way she would have lived unless_ something_ intervened, especially since I cleared the blizzard enough for her to make her way back to base with the dogs so she didn't get any colder, she started asking who had saved her. It only took two months for her to get enough belief to see me and another month for her to get me hooked on online gaming," said Jack smiling.

"There's one thing I don't get. Why in the name of Manny did you even pick up a computer, Frostbite?" asked Bunny.

Because _that_ was bugging him.

Jack muttered something under his breath, clearly embarrassed.

"What was that?" said Bunny.

"I wanted to learn how to read, okay?" snapped Jack. "When I died there was much reason for a sheppard's son to learn how to read, and I barely knew more than how to do the bare basics of math. So when I found out that there were programs on the computer that taught people who didn't have a normal education how to read and everything else, I figured it was worth giving it a try."

Bunny looked ashamed of himself. It was hard to get angry at Jack for using a computer or interacting with humans if that was the original reason he bothered to mess with that sort of thing.

It was just one of those things that people took for granted, never understanding why other people would be jealous of them for it.


End file.
